The 75th Carmel Bach Festival opened at Carmel's Sunset Center theater Saturday evening with conductor Paul Goodwin guiding the full might of the ensemble through the monumental "B Minor Mass."

Ironically, this Bach masterpiece was never performed during the composer's lifetime. He seems to have created the Mass as a summation of his life's work, a gift for the ages first performed in its entirety 1859.

The Mass has long been a core part the festival, rotating in a cycle with Bach's Passions and occasionally his Christmas Oratorio.

Festival dramaturge David Gordon describes the masterpiece as "an encyclopedic fusion of every possible Baroque musical style and form."

For this reason, the "B Minor Mass" is challenging, especially for choral singers. It took the Bach festival 12 years to present the Mass in its complete form, though sections made it into the earliest programs.

It seems appropriate at this milestone season for the "B Minor Mass" to achieve it finest performance to date with the full ensemble: chorale, orchestra, soloists and volunteer chorus.

Goodwin and associate conductor Andrew Megill, who prepares the chorus and directs the festival's professional chorale, continue to refine the ensemble.

They delivered a spectacular and moving account of the Bach mass, a magnificent tribute to the accomplishments of Carmel Bach over 75 years. The music keeps getting better with each season.

This summer, Goodwin has added natural trumpets and horns and early flutes to the orchestra, which gives fresh, rich textures to the sound. He also adjusted the acoustics of the hall.

For the Mass, Goodwin created a cathedral-like acoustic, ideal for this grand-scale presentation. A stained-glass style projection behind the ensemble added a visual sacred-space feel to the hall.

Countertenor Robin Blaze appears at the festival for the first time this year and lives up to his soaring reputation as a phenomenal Bach soloist.

His "Agnus Dei" ("Lamb of God") was heart-meltingly poignant and powerful. The duet between Blaze and soprano Kendra Colton proved another vocal high point of the Mass.

Tenor Thomas Cooley executed his demanding sections with panache, as did Clara Rottsolk hers. Baritone Alexander Dobson made less of an impression, however, though he was splendid in "Alexander's Feast" on Sunday afternoon.

Goodwin brings fresh energy to the masterwork with his bright, lively conducting style and his skill at sustaining optimum balance among the many musical elements.

He and concertmaster Peter Hanson seem every bit as attuned to one another as their festival predecessors Bruno Weil and Libby Wallfisch.

Refreshingly, in this pairing, the conductor is the lively extroverted personality with a quiet and thoughtful concertmaster whereas during the Weil years, he was the introvert and Wallfisch the firecracker.

I recommend this year's lecture series that is presented as part of the "Music and Ideas" offerings at the festival.

Gordon's lectures on "The Great Mass," his talk about the Sunday afternoon concert featuring music of Bach, Handel and the marvelous composer-in-residence Curt Cacioppo are excellent and free.

He had the opportunity Monday evening to bring in soloist Janet See, who is featured in Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 2 playing a Baroque flute, an instrument made of wood requiring a virtuosic technique that few in the world possess. See will return with her fascinating description of this instrument next Monday.

Gordon has plunged into deep and excited research about the lives of Hazel Watrous and Dene Denny, the festival's founders, and will share some of his discoveries Tuesday nights before the concert focusing on 75 years of music at the festival.

I also encourage you to attend Cacioppo's talk at 4 p.m. on Monday. He's a delightful man, a huge fan of Bach as well as a superb composer with keen insights into the creative process of making music.

On Wednesdays, Megill presents a talk on the chorale concert that evening featuring early music of Latin America. And there are more talks by Gordon and others to explore.

Goodwin brought together a well-matched and engaging quartet of musical works for Sunday afternoons at the festival.

An effervescent afternoon of music with the orchestra, chorale and soloists, "The Power of Music, Old and New" gave the vocalists a showcase for their talents with arias of many moods and flavors at this Handelian musical banquet.

The orchestra played with translucent clarity under Goodwin's leadership, especially apparent in the orchestral suite.

Cacioppo did not make an appearance, so the audience couldn't express their appreciation for his work at the end of the performance. This disappointed.

The performances reviewed here will be repeated next week.

The Carmel Bach Festival continues through July 28 with concerts, lectures and special events throughout each day. For times, dates and more information and to make reservations call 624-1521 or visit www.bachfestival.org.